Cereals cover nearly half of Finland’s cultivated area of more than two million hectares – feed grass accounts for a third

Nearly half of Finland’s cultivated area, or roughly 1.1 million hectares, has been cultivated to produce barley, oats, rye, wheat and other cereals. Grass crops grown to produce feed for livestock account for a third of the cultivated area. Other groups of crops cover smaller areas, including potato, sugar beet, turnip rape, rapeseed and pea.

More peas on Finnish fields than ever before – more than 40,000 hectares

The low level of domestic protein production has been named the weakness of our arable farming if the goal is to increase the self-sufficiency of our agricultural production. The food and feed pea area has increased tenfold during the last decade, increasing domestic protein production.

What cereals are grown more on Finnish fields than last year?

“The areas of winter wheat, rye, triticale, and food and feed pea are significantly larger than in the previous year. The area of winter wheat, which survived the winter much better than last year, is clearly the largest of these crops. The winter wheat area doubled, and this summer’s area of 69,000 hectares is the second largest in the 100-year history of the statistics,” says Anneli Partala, Senior Statistician at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

After three years, the rye area has returned to the level at which its yield can satisfy domestic demand during a good harvest year. However, the rye area of 27,000 hectares is historically among the smallest.

What cereals are grown less this summer than last year?

The areas of spring wheat, barley, turnip rape and rapeseed have decreased from the previous year. The area of barley, our most cultivated cereal, is roughly 405,000 hectares, accounting for almost 20 per cent of our total field area. However, the barley area is the smallest in more than 50 years. The barley area was at its highest in 1988, when it was more than 680,000 hectares.

Field area unchanged – the number of farms decreasing

Finland’s field area has remained unchanged for several decades. In contrast, the number of farms has halved in under 30 years. Finland’s field area, i.e. utilised agricultural area, has remained at roughly 2.3 million hectares for decades, covering seven per cent of Finland’s total area. This year, this field area is divided between some 43,000 farms.

Background to the statistics

The statistical data are based on crop-specific areas reported by farms during the application period for field subsidies, which ended on 15 June 2023. The statistical data are available by region. Until 2022, the statistics were compiled by ELY Centre region. The statistics are preliminary and will be published as final in the spring of 2024.

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